


White Out

by DragonSorceress22



Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Blood, Blood Loss, Cold, Don't copy to another site, Fluffy Ending, Get-Together Fic, I am meanest to my favorite characters, M/M, Magic is Real, One Shot, Post-Conan Kudou Shinichi, Survival
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:01:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22059751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonSorceress22/pseuds/DragonSorceress22
Summary: It doesn’t take long for Kaito to realize he’d do anything at all to save Kudou Shinichi.
Relationships: Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan/Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid
Comments: 24
Kudos: 450





	White Out

**Author's Note:**

> Beta’d by [solomonara](http://archiveofourown.org/users/solomonara/pseuds/solomonara/works)!
> 
> It's still about five hours to midnight where I am, but happy new year anyway! Here's to another year of being mean to these poor boys~♥

**City Mourns Great Detective, Savior of the Police Force**

A case that could be considered standard for amateur detective Kudou Shinichi (23) turned deadly when the Great Detective of the East pursued a violent criminal into the heights of a disused ski slope Tuesday evening. The slope had been closed off for weeks, judged to be under imminent threat of avalanche. These concerns proved true when murderer Inagaki Junichi (36) jumped from the slope’s ski lift to avoid Kudou’s pursuit, setting off a chain reaction down the slope.

Professional search parties on the scene were unable to locate either Kudou or Inagaki in the aftermath.

“It’s one of the largest snow-based collapses I’ve seen,” said veteran search and rescue worker Hokama Ayame (47). “Thankfully it was contained to the slope, but we knew going in that it was too deep for there to be much hope of finding any people up there.”

Unfortunately, that was indeed the final truth for the city’s young sleuth. The search, normally called off within the first few hours due to the short survival time of avalanche victims, continues well into the night, but to no avail.

Suga Seitaro (25), a recent addition to the MPD’s Division One and one of three officers wounded by the enraged Inagaki during his attempts to escape justice, mourns the loss of the great detective. “We always knew Kudou-kun was selfless. A hero. But we never expected to lose him like this.”

A memorial service will be held…

Kaito’s eyes unfocused, blurring the text. It couldn’t be true. An avalanche? A common murderer and a pile of snow _killed_ Kudou Shinichi?

He looked at his watch. It was inching toward 2 AM on Wednesday morning. The avalanche had happened less than six hours ago but the media had already written Shinichi off in the interest of being the first to break the news. He swore and threw the tablet at his pillow.

He had to do something. Kudou Shinichi wouldn’t give up. Not the Kudou Shinichi who chased him across rooftops just to talk. Not the Kudou Shinichi who saw through his tricks again and again until one day he was seeing through his masks. Kudou Shinichi, who had faced what should have literally been impossible – who had had his life turned upside down and everything he’d wanted ripped away from him but had still clawed his way back home and back to himself.

Kudou Shinichi never gave up. Kaito wouldn’t either.

KID’s cape whirled as it settled onto his shoulders, and then he was gone.

“You understand the rules?” Akako said, though she was already lowering the jeweled dagger to KID’s gloveless palm.

“If I lose focus, the connection slips and I’ll get lost before I reach him,” KID repeated dutifully. “I’ll exist on a separate plane so when I find him I can’t touch him, I can only guide him and speak to him. The spell lasts for as long as I’m willing to give blood.”

“Willing and able,” Akako corrected. She looked into the cauldron. “They don’t want your good intentions. But don’t worry; the potion will keep the wound from closing up.”

Kaito felt that under most circumstances that was rather a great cause for worry, but he didn’t move or even flinch as Akako dragged the silver blade across his palm. His left arm was extended over the large black cauldron filled with spiraling green-yellow liquid, thin as water but glowing like radioactivity. As the first drop of his blood struck the surface though, the mixture turned a dark red right down to the belly of the cauldron. Tendrils of steam like living limbs rose up to caress his hand and his stomach twisted. More blood dripped free.

“Are you ready?” Akako asked sharply, reclaiming his attention.

KID sucked in a breath. “Yes.”

Akako clasped the blade of the dagger between her hands like she was at prayer. The chant that fell from her lips, liquid as the swirling potion, may well have been one for all Kaito knew. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was Shinichi. He had to focus.

_Shinichi…_

_Shinichi…_

_Shinichi…_

It was luck more than any cleverness or determination on Shinichi’s part that he was alive. He’d been on the ski lift when it had been swallowed by the crush of snow and ice. He fell and the bench seat fell on top of him. He’d caught a length of cable in his hand and _held_. The night sky blotted from his vision with so much white until all he could see was black.

It wasn’t until the tremors died away that Shinichi realized the bench had wedged into the existing packed snow when it dropped, forming a tent over him that gave him some space inside the snow. His legs hurt. His _everything_ hurt. He’d fallen badly – there was no _good_ way to fall from that height – but he couldn’t think about that right now. The cable was still in his hand and delaying would mean spending air he didn’t have.

He had no idea how far he was from the surface and he was fighting against time. He pawed at his pockets and came up with a pocket knife and a set of keys. With these in each hand, he started in on the hard packed snow, following the length of cable.

When Kaito appeared on the dark, snowy mountain he wondered if the spell had gone wrong – if he hadn’t focused hard enough. Then, as his eyes adjusted, he realized that Shinichi was there at his feet. KID dropped to his knees without disturbing a fleck of snow. He couldn’t touch anything. He was only “on” the surface of the snow because he imagined it that way.

“Tantei-kun!” he shouted, and his voice rang out in the dark. Shinichi _was_ there, but he was buried with only one curled, pale, bloodied hand at the surface beside a small hollow where he’d broken through only enough to breathe. “Tantei-kun, can you hear me? You’ve got to wake up!”

How many hours? Shinichi was here, right at the surface of the snow. He’d gotten himself there, surely, based on his injured hand and the disturbed snow around him. He’d survived the physical trauma of the avalanche that most commonly killed victims in his position, and broken through enough to breathe, thereby defeating the eighteen minute time limit before death by suffocation. But… if he didn’t get out of the cold…

He couldn’t die now. Not like this. He’d fought so hard just to get to this point, but no matter how Kaito shouted, Shinichi didn’t respond.

The cold couldn’t affect Kaito like this, but he was shaking just the same. He had to do _something_ , and fast. He looked around. No landmarks presented themselves. He had no idea what part of the mountain he was on. Even if he returned to Akako’s and tried to contact the search party, even if he could somehow convince them of his preternatural knowledge of Kudou Shinichi’s position, he didn’t know how to guide them. He was the only one who could get to Shinichi, but he couldn’t _act_. Not like this.

Kaito passed a useless hand over Shinichi’s snowy hair. “Just hold on, Tantei-kun. Hold on, just a little longer.”

KID opened his eyes in the dim stone potion chamber of Akako’s home. “Akako,” he said, breathless and dizzy with the transport of his consciousness. “Is there any other way? Is there anything more I can do?”

Akako's lips pursed. “If you didn’t find him, then you weren’t meant to. The spell–”

“That’s not it!” Kaito insisted. “I found him but I can’t–” His hands clenched into fists and he jolted a little at the pain from his cut palm, still hovering near the lip of the cauldron. “I can’t help him like this. I need to _be_ there. Please, Akako, is there any way to actually send me there?”

To his surprise, Akako considered it. “If the first spell worked, then he really _is_ still alive. I’d had my doubts,” she explained, unapologetic, at Kaito’s affronted look. “But transport spells are different. You have to know where you’re going rather than who you’re going to. Can you do that?”

Kaito’s heart sank. It was the same reason he couldn’t just call the police and tell _them_ where to go. “I can’t,” he replied, and the words were like a barb turning in his chest. “But maybe… Maybe if I tried the first spell again. Maybe I could figure it out–”

“Don’t waste your time,” Akako dismissed, already turning from him to the cauldron. “Or your blood. If you couldn’t figure it out the first time, the second will be no different. I don’t imagine there’s much time for that anyway.”

“ _Please_ , Akako,” he said again, and Akako stilled. He was willing to pay, she realized. Anything at all. She could _ask_ anything at all, and he would give it to her. He was at her mercy, and suddenly, all at once, she wanted none of it. He belonged to someone else, and the thrill of the chase was gone.

“Astral projection,” she said, and Kaito held his breath, waiting for more. “What you want is astral projection – sending a physical presence rather than just an echo.”

“Yes–!” Kaito started but Akako cut him off.

“The mechanics are the same as the previous spell, but the cost is much higher. It will require more blood, more quickly.”

“That’s fine,” Kaito replied and he rolled up his sleeve in rough, jerking movements. He held his arm out over the cauldron.

Akako didn’t bother with any reiterations. She didn’t ask him if he was sure. Instead she shrugged her indifference and cut his wrist open with the silver jeweled dagger. Then, as his blood ran into the potion, she held the blade between her palms and began a new chant.

Kaito couldn’t distinguish the words any more now than he could before, but the sounds were somehow heavier. He felt himself… split. It was like separating a long piece of KID-shaped velcro, the crackling tear of it filling his ears. He thought he might have staggered but he wasn’t sure, because then another KID took physical form far away in the mountains, and when he dropped to his knees this time, the snow underneath them gave way.

“Tantei-kun!” KID called again, and then he was digging, scrabbling at the snow until he could grab Shinichi under his arms and haul him free. For a few moments KID just sat in the snow, clutching Shinichi against him as he caught his breath in puff after puff of white fog.

And then he realized his mistake.

KID swore viciously and let go of Shinichi with one hand to paw around under his own jacket. He found a flare and set it off, a red streak shooting up into the night.

It was basic first aid – call for help _first_. Before _anything_ else, call for help first. He was furious with himself but he stamped down the feeling. He had to stay focused. He’d called for help now, in the only way he could, so he needed to move on to the next step.

In true Kaitou KID fashion, Kaito made short work of a few wardrobe adjustments. He stripped himself to the waist first. Shinichi had been wearing a blazer and button-down under a simple knee-length jacket – KID undid all the fastenings of these to bare Shinichi’s chest, then hauled the detective onto his back, skin to skin. He put his own shirt and blazer on again, backwards, just to somewhat cover his arms and chest, but the cape he draped over Shinichi’s head and back, the thick fabric blocking the cold night wind. Gritting his teeth, he started down the slope.

It might have only been minutes but it felt like ages as Kaito trudged on through the snow. Every hiss of wind over the sparkling powder piqued his ears. Surely the search teams would make their way there at any moment…

But he was losing strength, and not just from the rough terrain and biting cold. He was bleeding out back at Akako’s. Every now and then his focus would split between the sparkling silver of the moonlit mountain and the flickering gold of firelight on stone. He heard her questions vaguely. She was telling him to come back. His own voice echoed with a strained, “Not yet,” and he continued to push through the snow with Shinichi, silent and still, on his back.

Akako watched in consternation as Kaito swayed before her. The chant falling from her lips was little more than an afterthought now. The spell had reached a point of repetition that she didn’t need to think about. Instead, she clasped the dagger in one hand and used the other to trace a few sigils in the air. A red brine of magic foamed into existence, just catching KID’s body as he finally folded, too weak to stand any longer. It bore him up, a cloud-like hovering stretcher that brought him level with the lip of the cauldron, his arm still stretched out above it. His hand was limp, his head lolling, but he was still awake. Still stubborn and desperate.

Still bleeding.

Akako tilted her head, watching him, then slowly tilted her hand. The frothing plane of red magic tilted as well, dipping KID’s head just slightly lower than his feet to guide more blood flow toward the heart and brain.

“Give up soon,” Akako whispered, her voice doubling as the continuous chant made room for her own words as well. “Give up. Give up.”

On the mountain, KID collapsed into the snow. He was shaking and he couldn’t tell anymore if it was the exertion or the cold or the blood loss that was causing it. Whatever it was, he knew he couldn’t carry Shinichi any farther, so he set off another flare and prayed. Lying in the snow, he was reduced to nothing more than a small barrier of warmth between Shinichi and the elements. And for that, he held on until he heard shouting on the wind, saw the flash of lights on the snow, and knew that the rescue team had arrived.

Kaito let out a sob of relief and dropped a single flash bomb to draw them in the right direction. Through blurry eyes, he saw the group approach, and then he closed his eyes and faded away from the mountain.

In the potion chamber, Kaito’s body stitched back together in rough, jerking fits, disrupting the magic that was supporting him beside the cauldron. He rolled onto the stone floor and the potion hissed its anger at the loss of its blood supply. Akako stabbed the dagger into it and it quieted immediately, sucking the blade down and rippling into a basin of clear calm water, as though that was all it had ever been.

Kaito got his hands on the floor and tried to push himself up, but he was shaking violently and the effort suddenly set him retching. The flood of magic, the split, the fusion, the blood loss… it was all too much. He crumpled and didn’t react when Akako knelt and rolled him into her lap.

She’d known this was coming. From the moment he’d asked for the spell and not questioned the price she’d known. The transport amulet was already in her hand and “hospital” was all it needed to know.

When they vanished from the potion chamber and appeared at the hospital at the base of the mountain, she knew just as surely that Kaito was somehow still fighting, still focusing on Shinichi.

A touch of her magic was all that was needed to change KID’s clothes, and then Akako was gone, leaving a young man bleeding on the floor of the hospital’s lobby before anyone could process more than a glimpse of anything else. A witch? Kaitou KID? No. Just a wounded man in desperate need of help.

A few days later, Kaito stepped quietly out of his hospital room, intent on releasing himself and heading home since news of Shinichi’s miraculous rescue had already assured him of the detective’s survival. Shinichi had gotten restless too, however, and had just wandered into the hallway as well, limping only slightly with the aid of a crutch. They saw each other in the same moment.

“It was real,” Shinichi said faintly. “KI–”

At Kaito’s flinch Shinichi cut himself off and darted a few quick glances at the other patients and nurses dotted along the hallway.

“Come with me,” Shinichi said instead, and reached out to grab Kaito’s wrist. Kaito let him and stumbled after him back into Shinichi’s room.

“KID,” Shinichi said again, this time so warmly that Kaito felt it all the way down to his toes. “Are you all right?”

Shinichi hadn’t missed the sure signs of Kaito’s hospitalization but Kaito waved him off. “Perfectly fine. Glad to see you up and about, Meitantei.” His eyes moved across the room, partly out of habit to be sure there were no people or cameras, but partly because he couldn’t quite look at Shinichi without feeling awkward. The intensity of the feelings that had driven his actions that night hadn’t been lost on him. They hadn’t faded, and he knew what they meant. But then he noticed the thick white fabric lying on Shinichi’s hospital bed and he couldn’t take his eyes from it.

“You, ah… You left your cape,” Shinichi explained, but his face was suddenly flushed and he wasn’t looking at KID either. The cape wasn’t folded neatly and set aside. It wasn’t draped over a nearby chair. It was on the bed that Shinichi had very obviously just vacated, pooled along the side of the mattress and bunched slightly near the top like he’d held it in his fist as he’d slept.

“Well I wonder how that works,” Kaito said without thinking.

“What?”

KID blinked then grinned at him. “It was a magic spell,” he answered enigmatically. “One to keep you safe. And I’m glad it worked.” Again without thinking, Kaito moved forward and pushed Shinichi’s bangs back from his forehead to touch a kiss to his slightly fevered skin. Shinichi just stared. “Keep it with you,” KID said, glancing at the cape. “And I promise I’ll come to retrieve it once you make it back home.”

Shinichi nodded once, awestruck, but when Kaito stepped away Shinichi caught him again, gently folding Kaito’s injured hand between both of his. “I can’t remember what happened to you,” he admitted, his eyes following the spiral of bandages crawling up Kaito’s forearm. “But I know that you saved me. Thank you, KID.”

There would be questions later. _How?_ hung in the air between them like a living thing, but not like a threat.

Kaito smiled at him again. “You’re welcome, Tantei-kun.”

Kaito kept an eye on the Kudou manor and when Shinichi eventually returned he brought the cape with him as promised. He kept it neatly folded now, but it still stayed beside him on his bed when he slept. Kaito didn’t come for it right away. He gave Shinichi time to finish recovering, the bruises, fractures, and sprains taking only a few weeks in all. Then KID appeared in Shinichi’s window one calm, warm midnight.

“Meitantei,” KID said softly.

Shinichi was sitting up waiting for him, fully dressed and perched on the edge of his mattress with the cape folded in his lap under a caressing hand. He smirked and stood.

As KID climbed into the room, Shinichi stepped up to him. KID was already wearing a cape but Shinichi drew the other around KID’s shoulders anyway, almost an embrace in its closeness and intimacy. The fabric rippled like heat in the air, settled, then… gone. Fused into the cape it was made from. Shinichi breathed out a remarkably calm laugh.

“What do you know,” he said, voice low and breath warm on KID’s skin. “You’ve made me believe in magic, Kaitou KID.” And they were standing so close already that it was no effort at all to slip their arms around each other and meet in a gentle kiss.


End file.
